Black market fight to test UK gambling’s will, patience & stomach 

At the BGC AGM, stakeholders agree that dismantling the black market is UK gambling’s next generational challenge. But can the chorus stay on tune for a misunderstood and mismanaged sector?

It can’t be stated in a soft tone, the battle to protect UK gambling from the black market will require resources extending beyond the governance of the industry.

Yet it appears the most important weapons will be good will and pragmatism as the industry remains subdued by a negative status with consumers, media and political ranks.

The message is relayed by the speakers and panellists of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) Annual General Meeting. But can it echo beyond the conference stage of 11 Cavendish Square and gain wider support for a ‘comprehensive and full stakeholder approach’ to combat the nuanced threats of the black market?

2026 is pitched as a definitive year for UK gambling in which the remaining duties of the Gambling Act review’s White Paper will be completed. Even more significantly, come April, UK licences will embed the adjustments of the “40% era” on remote gambling duty (RGD).

Yet since the BGC’s foundation in 2020, each year the trade body sees gambling playout to a “definitive phase”. As generational impacts loom, 2026 must be viewed as ground-zero of the battle to beat the black market and its evolving threats.

Baroness Twycross: Taskforce carries weight 

DCMS Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross struck an assertive tone, expressing full confidence that the newly established Illegal Gambling Taskforce will deliver tangible results “as early as later this year.”

The taskforce seeks alignment between major technology and payments firms — including Google, Meta and Visa  alongside law enforcement agencies to disrupt illegal advertising, marketing and payment channels.

“As part of this work, we will increase financial penalties for those bodies that facilitate illegal gambling advertising, marketing, and content,” she said, “helping to reduce the pipeline of people being drawn into the illegal gambling market and gambling-related harm.”

The message was clear: enforcement is widening beyond licensed operators.

Grainne Hurst: Tax tips the Jenga tower

In a subsequent interview, the BGC’s Chief Executive Officer, Grainne Hurst, was pressed on whether the government had truly listened to industry warnings over the cumulative impact of tax rises, fees and the statutory levy.

“You could say that they listened as £26m has been allocated to the Gambling Commission to take on the black market,” she responded. “But that misses the point entirely, as we need a full solution to stop consumers engaging with the black market.”

On the economic pressure facing operators, Hurst offered a stark metaphor: “It’s as if we are building a Jenga tower — you build it up and up, but at some point it will topple. I am concerned that we are getting to that point now with the mix of regulatory burdens layered on top of tax.”

For Hurst, dismantling the black market is both structural and personal of her leadership of the BGC: “It is personal for me. I genuinely love the industry I represent, and I can’t stand the negativity it gets,” she said and warned politics of the fallout of inertia: “The industry protects consumers. Illegal operators don’t and are a threat to everyone. They target the vulnerable, don’t pay taxes, threaten jobs, our health and our economy.”

Nigel Huddlestone: Labour must own the outcome

Shadow Culture Secretary Nigel Huddlestone defended the Conservative government’s oversight of the Gambling Act review as a calibrated attempt to “protect that balance between consumer safety and economic sustainability.”

Huddlestone is no stranger to the UK betting space, having played a role in overseeing the Gambling Act review while Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society from February 2020-September 2022 – the review started in December 2020 and ended in the publication of the White Paper in April 2023.

He warned that Labour’s budget has placed that balance under strain through what he described as an “unprecedented tax hike”, and argued that the government must now carry “full accountability” as the remaining stages of the Review are implemented.

“If this government cares about protecting people, they should care about keeping them in the regulated market,” Huddlestone said, urging ministers to ensure implementation remains “targeted, workable and focused on positive outcomes,” rather than drifting into “blunt, sweeping measures that risk accelerating the very black-market growth we sought to prevent.”

Panel: “Forget balance…” 

The afternoon panel sharpened the tone. David Williams, Director of Corporate Affairs at Rank Group, dismissed the framing of “balance” entirely.

“It’s fine to talk about balance when we are discussing taxation and economic output,” he said. “But not on this subject. We were not talking about the black market in 2019. Now we are told we need a balance.”

“Let’s face it — the black market is a symptom of a deficient market. The more it encroaches, the more deficient the market is. It’s that simple. There should be no talk of balance. It needs to be eradicated.”

Jordan Lea, founder of Deal Me Out, added a lived-experience perspective, arguing that regulatory strategy risks overlooking those who migrate to offshore sites after exclusion.

“I started gambling within gaming when I was 13. I already had a gambling addiction by the time I got to 18,” he said. “When I moved into the regulated market, I was already beyond any help.”

Although he credits GamStop as “a lifesaver”, Lea admitted he returned via unlicensed platforms. “It could be as high as 12%,” he warned of the current  black-market channelisation.

He also criticised what he sees as a clean separation between industry expertise and the NHS levy framework. “I have years of experience in the treatment of problem gambling… but my appearance on this panel will be problematic to many,” he noted, highlighting tensions that are visible in the current debate.

Tim Miller: Lets break away from the treadmill

Closing the summit, Tim Miller, Policy and Research Director at the Gambling Commission, acknowledged that “the budget in November radically changed the outlook for many gambling businesses.”

He reiterated that the £26m allocated to tackle illegal gambling is “taxpayer funded” and “the only part of the Commission’s activity supported directly from general taxation.” 

On fees, he reminded delegates: “It has been five years since our fees were last reviewed and a lot has happened in that time.”

Enforcement, he stressed, is “not something we address on our own.” Social media firms, big tech, affiliates and financial services must all “make a concerted effort” in what he described as a “new battle.”

On crypto, Miller signalled a shift in regulatory posture: “The new crypto asset regime is then expected to come into force on 25th October 2027,” he said, noting that firms undertaking regulated crypto activities will require FCA authorisation.

“I think these steps, progressing the FCA’s own roadmap around cryptocurrency, start to change the picture for this industry,” he continued.

“As well as the growing appetite that we see from punters, we do now want to start looking at what the potential path forward would be to create a way for crypto assets to be used as a consumer payment option for licensed and regulated gambling here in Great Britain.”

As the Commission prepares for a leadership transition following Andrew Rhodes’ departure, Miller paid tribute to his outgoing CEO, calling him “an absolutely amazing boss” who strengthened enforcement and reshaped regulatory engagement.

Looking ahead, Miller argued that once White Paper measures are fully implemented, the industry requires a period of stability.

“It does not take us any further forward in figuring out what works,” he warned of constant reform. “Like a treadmill, we risk expending a lot of energy just to get nowhere.”

“A period perhaps of some regulatory stability… creates opportunities.”

For an industry facing fiscal tightening, political scrutiny and an emboldened black market, that stability may prove just as critical as enforcement.